Thailand in 1997 ... who remembers?

[David48]

Ive noticed a huge drop in Tourists,that makes me wonder where TAT get their figures from.. I get the feeling they are calling everyone at Arrivals a Tourist.

Were you hear in '97?

Long time to keep those sorts of stats.

[Ace of Pop]

Ive noticed a huge drop in Tourists,that makes me wonder where TAT get their figures from.. I get the feeling they are calling everyone at Arrivals a Tourist.

Were you hear in '97?

Long time to keep those sorts of stats.

What Stats are you talking about, ,just use your eyes,the trains going North were packed 27 years ago.Strange post.TATs figures suggest they are even fuller now,but i rarely see a Ferang on them,they used too call me for CheapChangs when i waited for BKK Post to arrive by Train.

[overherebc]

UK farangs had cash to burn and buy houses and condos on the cheap ,very cheap ,unlike now when you pay virtually double ++ on property and goods.

its was permanent party time in the bars then,

but they never did get round to changing the bankruptcy laws AFAIK things are still the same .

all the farangs and indians were changing wads of cash to change.

But you had to be lucky to call the top of the market as the rate was changing by the hour like the date numbers on the time machine .

downside was many got badly burnt on off the plan condos and all property sales ,to lose the lot

What I remember affected quite a few us in construction, many projects were either shelved or cancelled and a good few guys had to go home or find work in other places.

[zoza]

I first set foot in Thailand 1998 four brits here for twenty odd days, we couldn't believe how cheap everything was

a friend who had recommended us coming out here on holiday,he kept going on about the exchange rates but we

didn't have a clue, we partied for three weeks solid, I think it hit 80/ 90 bhts to the £ at one point. my mobile phone

bill was around £1000, young and foolish springs to mind.

[giggles]

before 1997 everything was cheap in Thailand, in 1997 and for a short time in 1998 everything was dàmn cheap in Thailand.

I briefly recall THB 95 to GBP1.00.

I always thought it peaked at 94.2, but could be wrong.

The reason I remember that number was because I transferred a significant amount of money across from UK and got 92.4 baht to the pound. Unfortunately this was in my party days and not planned, if I had been clear-headed it would have been a lot more in the transfer..........

it peeked at over a 100 but only about half an hour ,next day it plunged back to the 90-80s down down down

if you were lucky to hang on that long most changed all their cash at a lower rate than tops

[giggles]

the old abandoned buildings from the crash were around till recent years with rusting rebar and crumbling concrete pillars and dilapidated floor slabs ,then they put the cladding on and finished them off with all that deterioration hidden underneath !

scary

[giggles]

there was big party going on at THERMAE with farangs with wads of money to burn ,good old days .that was in the days when all the gals were friendly to all guys

[chonabot]

I first rocked up in 1988 as a 23 year old, it was about 42 baht to the pound but we soon found out the reason for naming the 500 baht note 'The Purple Persuader'

What a fortnight....

[MegaRanter]

Creeped across the southern border with a Hungarian bloke I met in Malaysia. We were going to paint bkk red, with him moving to Vietnam and some places I never heard of before. It was on .. Wait .. The date was 30th December 1997. The dude was counting every ringit and baht. We took a coach to bkk. Arrived next morning the 31. I promptly separated myself from him. When you a $100 you get a fistfull of cash

[cpofc]

We had just sold our Thai Restaurant in Melbourne, Aust and contemplated moving back to Thailand full time when the Asian Tigers collapsed. I was going to throw my hat in the ring to go partners in the ANZAC Hotel (Bar & Restaurant) in Pattaya, which was being 'run', by a few ex 3RAR Diggers who took it over after the original owner was stabbed to death by a French Heroin Addict who broke into his house to rob it.. The deal fell through when the Thai Landlord stiched up the current lease holder, Ron. and Ex Australian Army Sergeant, married to a Thai, from Newcastle.

At this time. The Australian Dollar was hovering in the low 20's, having slowly increased from a low of 16 in the early 90s when Australia was in recession and the Thai economy was booming. I was here when it actually happened. It was all very sudden. I was down at the Bangkapi Mall when the AUD hit 32 Baht that day. Unheard of! The highest ever since Australia had changed to Decimal Curreny on FEB 14 1966. I immedfiately bought the latest SONY Mid Home Theatre System which played Video CDs. A revolution at the time, although VCDs only ever sold in the Asian Market - Never got to Australia. Australia went from VHS Tape to DVD, skipping VCDs.

But the rate of 32 Baht to the dollar was fleeting and it did not take long for it to drop back to the Mid 20s by the start of 1998. So we stayed in Oz and bought our 2nd Restaurant.

and those are my memories of September/October 1997.

[cpofc]

I figured that Mr. Worf... I was wondering if there were any real life examples.

unfortunately i lack specific information about bar fines and working girl charges as i was happily married for 18 years in 1997.

but if you are interested what the 70s in Thailand were like... let me tell you a secret... they were paradise²

Depends what your definition of Paradise is really. For those who would like to wind back the clock and live in 1970s Thailand most of todays generation would s**t themselves. I never actually lived here in the 1970s but visited almost every year from 1970 onwards, although I did live a couple of months of every year in the Philippines during my off time.

During the 70s you could roll up at anyone of the famous Massage parlours in Petchburi Road and take out a girl for a full 24 hours for 500 Baht. All up. No more to pay. With an option to extend. If she was good, just send the driver back with another 'purple' note. 'Taxis' were mostly privately owned 'Yank Tanks' where you hooked up with a Thai Driver and 'minder' for the duration of your stay. Cheap, well appointed R&R hotels were plentiful. Who can ever forget the Grace Hotel. What a hoot that was for a young bloke. The Thai Heaven Bar across the road from the New World (R&R) Hotel. The US Military run Windsor Hotel, especially when you had run out of smokes and had resorted to smoking Khrong Thip and Falling Rain.. Packets of 20 ready, tailor made, ganja joints for 100 baht.

If you think the language barrier is a problem today, try thailand in the 70s LOL - The first Thai word I learnt was Ba Ba Babo

Bars and Bar Girls were nowhere near as prolific as they are today. Samui was unheard of, as was phuket . Pattaya was still a village'. Nana was just a hotel with a 'coffee shop'. No bars. These were also the days of political turmoil as the Vietnam War wound down and Anti American Sentiment was strong.. On a couple of visits Patpong was declared 'Off Limits' to all personnel.

[Trembly]

1997 was the year that I was told that I wouldn't be going to (international) school on Monday and that instead I would be going on holiday to my maternal family home in Chiang Rai, where I spent the next year or so devouring and re-devouring any English language reading material I could find and personally getting to know every tree in the village.

[wayned]

1997 was the year that I was told that I wouldn't be going to (international) school on Monday and that instead I would be going on holiday to my maternal family home in Chiang Rai, where I spent the next year or so devouring and re-devouring any English language reading material I could find and personally getting to know every tree in the village.

So now it's 16 years later, how did your life turn out? In 1967 I was sent to a foreign country where everybody was killing each other just to stay alive and never understood the reason why. My life has turned out "okay" but I wii never be able to justify the incredible horror that occurred back then.

[villagefarang]

I bought a condo around that time and it was one of the few that got finished, and pretty much on time. Down-payments during the build period were at around 25 baht but the final payment was closer to 40 baht. The difference pretty much paid for the interior decoration.

I met my wife to be during that time. For a while I was able to fly business class for the old economy price, in dollar terms. In general it was a good time for me personally and ushered in a new phase in my life.

Having lived here since the mid 70s, that was a memorable period but only one of many.

[Thai at Heart]

Company imported a ton of dollars and bought 10 new company cars, laptops for the region and 20 new sets of corporate golf clubs.

[cpofc]

I bought a condo around that time and it was one of the few that got finished, and pretty much on time. Down-payments during the build period were at around 25 baht but the final payment was closer to 40 baht. The difference pretty much paid for the interior decoration.

I met my wife to be during that time. For a while I was able to fly business class for the old economy price, in dollar terms. In general it was a good time for me personally and ushered in a new phase in my life.

Having lived here since the mid 70s, that was a memorable period but only one of many.

My Yank Brother In Law got burnt. He had bought off a plan in a new housing estate this side (Bangkok) of Pattaya. Don't know what amount he actually got dudded for, but he lost it all when the developers went down the crapper.

[villagefarang]

I bought a condo around that time and it was one of the few that got finished, and pretty much on time. Down-payments during the build period were at around 25 baht but the final payment was closer to 40 baht. The difference pretty much paid for the interior decoration.

I met my wife to be during that time. For a while I was able to fly business class for the old economy price, in dollar terms. In general it was a good time for me personally and ushered in a new phase in my life.

Having lived here since the mid 70s, that was a memorable period but only one of many.

My Yank Brother In Law got burnt. He had bought off a plan in a new housing estate this side (Bangkok) of Pattaya. Don't know what amount he actually got dudded for, but he lost it all when the developers went down the crapper.

Interestingly I bought my friend’s unit because she wanted to buy into a bigger fancier project, next to the health club, with other friends. In the end she lost her investment in the other place which never got built.

For some reason things always seem to work out for me. My father used to say, if I fell in the river I would come out with fish in my pockets.

[JSixpack]

It was the best of times and the worst of times.

[David48]

My father used to say, if I fell in the river I would come out with fish in my pockets.

I haven't heard that one before ...

.

[benalibina]

My father used to say, if I fell in the river I would come out with fish in my pockets.

I haven't heard that one before ...

.

He must have misunderstood his father.

[villagefarang]

It is a very simple concept. Where someone else might end up wet, cold and feeling unlucky after falling in a river, I would come out of it with a bounty of fish with no effort on my part. Misfortune turned into good fortune.

Living a blessed life or being looked over by a guardian angel might elicit similar notions of good luck.

[benalibina]

It is a very simple concept. Where someone else might end up wet, cold and feeling unlucky after falling in a river, I would come out of it with a bounty of fish with no effort on my part. Misfortune turned into good fortune.

Living a blessed life or being looked over by a guardian angel might elicit similar notions of good luck.

Enlighten us about your good and blessed life. What have you done for that ?

[colinneil]

January 20th 1998 there was 92.4 baht to 1 pound. I got that in the thai farmers bank in pattaya. Still have the receipt from bank, i kept it because i could not believe the rate.

[maccaroni man]

I arrived in June of 96 the exchange rate was 22 to 1 US dollar the phrase of the day was "it's the Thai way" and every other car on the road seemed to be a merc. Koh San rd was still bohemian, koh Samui was just got the centara.

take it easy but you were cheated. from 1985 till May 1997 one US-Dollar bought 25 Baht.

most probably you arrived in June 97 when the Baht dropped (for one day only) to 22.

. Probably spot on as I arrived by bus at the south terminal and the tuk tuk dropped me on koh San where I stayed in a box over a bar until I got sorted in June of 96.

[Sheryl]

We bought or house April 1996 at baht 25 = $1

If we'd have waited until late January or early February 1998 when the baht hit 50-51 = $1, would have saved a whole bunch!!!

Would like it to go back to 40, easier to divide in my head.

Mac

Makes two of us! I built my house in 1997 at 25 baht to the dollar. No sooner finished than the baht dipped to 50. Oh, the money I could have saved.....